


À cœur ouvert

by croissantbleu



Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: ADHD!Dan, Alternate Universe, First Meeting, Fluff, M/M, Marriage Proposal, Mindreader!Phil, Strangers to Lovers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-25
Updated: 2018-03-25
Packaged: 2019-04-07 21:43:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,803
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14090283
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/croissantbleu/pseuds/croissantbleu
Summary: “I wonder if there’s a mind reader here,” Dan thought. “Must get boring, after a while. Always listening to random people’s thoughts and never having anyone to try and talk to you instead. Well, hello! My name’s Dan.”He did feel quite stupid and ridiculous, just talking to nobody inside his own head, but the good part about this was that no-one could hear him and know what he was doing. Well, unless there really was a mind reader nearby, but he wasn’t sure it was that likely.





	À cœur ouvert

Dan was bored. He hated the subway, hated how he had to take it twice a day - but hey, at least he had a job. And no car. Maybe taking the subway wasn't so bad, after all. Despite the unbearable _boredom_ that he just couldn't stand. He sighed. He couldn’t even listen to music like he usually would, his headphones had given up on life a few hours earlier. Great. That really wasn't helping him deal with his ADHD. That’s when he had an idea. A stupid one, probably, but if it could distract him for even a few minutes, that was good enough for him.

 _“I wonder if there’s a mind reader here,”_ Dan thought. _“Must get boring, after a while. Always listening to random people’s thoughts and never having anyone to try and talk to you instead. Well, hello! My name’s Dan.”_

He did feel quite stupid and ridiculous, just talking to nobody inside his own head, but the good part about this was that no-one could hear him and know what he was doing. Well, unless there really was a mind reader nearby, but he wasn’t sure it was that likely.

 _“Sorry if I’m bothering you, by the way,”_ he thought again. _“Just thought maybe you’d enjoy the company. Also I’m like, dying of boredom. So, yeah. Guess that doesn’t happen all the time, huh?”_

He heard someone chuckle somewhere behind him, but didn’t pay attention. What was he, the chuckle police? At least he was glad they seemed to be less bored than he was.

_“Just getting back from work. You’d think working at a library would be nice and quiet but honestly? Why are people always acting like you’re here to personally ruin their life like, I’m so sorry we don’t have that book that isn’t even out yet, maybe we can preorder it for you? What do you mean, you’ll go see elsewhere? It’s not OUT yet. Unlike me. Oof, bad joke. Sorry.”_

The chuckle was back behind him and Dan turned around this time, just for a second, enough to meet the piercing blue eyes of a man sat a little further. Dan sat back. There was something… unsettling about those eyes. It almost felt like they could read into your soul. He shook his head and looked out the window, not seeing anything but darkness and his reflection.

_“Does it ever get boring, not being able to reply to what people think? I think it would bother me. I’d probably just end up, like responding out loud. Which would not be a good idea, if you ask me. But, ah, you’re probably clever than that. More used to it, too, I guess. It must be weird, though. Realizing that you’re the only one able to hear thoughts. I don’t think I’d like that. And it must be so… loud, all the time. All those random thoughts tangling in your head. I hope you can tune it out. For your sake. Must be unbearable otherwise. Yeah, I don’t think I’d like to be in your place. I mean, it does sounds fun and useful, I’ll get you that, but also too much for me. Man, I know how sensory overload feels, I can imagine a little too well how it must be. Oh dear, would you look at that, I’ve gone all depressing again. Sorry about that. Want to hear about the time I got a smiley scar on my elbow? Not that you can refuse, really.”_

He kept going for a little bit, just telling random anecdotes for no other reasons that he could. And it made time pass faster.

_“Hey, not to be annoying or anything but, I kind of feel like this conversation is only going one way, you know? Kinda just feels like I'm talking to myself, which is a little… weird, even for me. Also, I think I'd like to hear your answers. And your voice. I think that's fair, after all the talking I've done. I mean, if you don't mind  of course. I'm the tall guy with brown hair sat alone in the front, if you'd like to join me.”_

He wasn't expecting anything, really, he didn't have any illusions on the possibility of a mind reader actually existing. And being on the same train as him. And wanting to talk to him. That seemed… unlikely, to say the least. So he was caught off guard when the guy with impossibly blue eyes sat in front of him, a small grin playing on his lips.

“Hi, Dan,” he said. “Decided to take up on the offer.”

“Fuck, you- wh- you actually heard me?” Dan spluttered.

The stranger laughed. “Yeah, I did hear you. My name's Phil, by the way. Glad to finally be able to talk as well.”

Dan smiled as well.

“So mind reader, huh? That must be… interesting.”

“Interesting sure is the right word,” Phil smiled again. “And to answer your question: yes, I can tune it out. Not completely, but until it's nothing more than a vague buzzing noise at the back of my head. That's quite nice.”

“That's good,” Dan nodded. “You know, when I was talking about sensory overload, well I have ADHD so I'm quite familiar with it - unfortunately - and I was wondering if it was kinda similar? Like, are there things that can help ground you? I know pressure and physical contact work great for me.”

It was Phil's turn to nod. “Yeah, I guess it is similar, in a way. Physical contact does help to make everything quiet, calm. But sometimes if I touch someone, it can make their thoughts louder. I don't know why,” he shrugged. “I don't know how a lot of this stuff works. But I know the closest I am with someone, emotionally speaking, the easier it is to have their thoughts go quiet.”

Dan smiled and looked out the window.

“That's my stop. Well, it was great to meet you, Phil,” he said as he stood up.

He marked a pause.

“I'll see you tomorrow?” he ended up adding.

Phil smiled. “I'll find you.”

 

* * *

 

 

"I'm home!" Dan said, closing the door behind him and heading to the living room.

"Hey," Phil said as Dan sat next to him on the couch, before leaning in for a kiss. "How was your day?"

"Good," Dan smiled. "I got you something," he added, reaching in the plastic bag and getting out the box.

He didn't miss the way Phil's eyes lit up, and he couldn't resist planting a kiss on his cheek. He knew how much he loved surprises, since it was quite difficult to manage to catch him off guard. But he really had no idea what this one was.

"You see, it's like this fake gemstone thing? There's something hidden inside that you can get by breaking it. You can still keep the gemstone after, though, it looked really pretty in the shop so I thought you'd like it."

"I love it," Phil smiled. "Thanks, love."

"Anything for you," Dan said in a chuckle. "D'you wanna try it now or later?"

"Well, it's your turn to make dinner," Phil pointed out. "So you can go and do that while I uncover the mystery of the stone."

"Sounds good to me. What do you think of pesto chicken pasta? I think we have everything for that."

"Sounds perfect," Phil said, and Dan stood up and walked to the kitchen, trying his best to focus on dinner and not on what was inside the gemstone.

It would be just like him to ruin the surprise now. He started humming as he began getting the ingredients out, still listening to the sounds coming from the living room. He'd be lying if he said he wasn't a little nervous. They'd talked about this already, multiples times during the two years they'd been dating, and he knew Phil and him were on the same page there, but he couldn't stop the slight worry nagging at the back of his head. He trusted Phil enough to know he wasn't listening to his thoughts right now, but he still preferred to focus on something else so he wasn't taking any chances.

Call him uselessly careful, but he really wanted this to be perfect. He heard Phil take a sharp breath in the next room and bit back his smile before focusing.

 _"What do you think, like the surprise?"_ he thought, strongly enough that he knew Phil would hear him.

Maybe he'd learned a couple of things about mind reading in these last two years. He heard Phil walk up to him and embrace him from the back, resting his head on his shoulder.

"The best of surprises," he whispered.

Dan giggled.

"So, is that a yes?" he asked, turning his head a little to be able to look at him.

Phil extended his arm in front of them, light catching on his hand.

"Yes, Daniel Howell. I will marry you."

"Good," Dan turned around and hooked up his arms around Phil's neck, and broke into a smile. "God, I love you so much."

Phil smiled back, the look in his eyes so soft that Dan could lose himself in them for hours. “I love you too.”

*

Later, they were both cuddling on the couch, Dan playing with Phil’s hand and watching how the light made the silver ring shine beautifully.

“Do you like it?” he asked quietly.

Not out of embarrassment or anything like this. It just felt like a time for quiet and the simple knowledge that they were here together.

Phil placed a kiss on the top of Dan’s head. “I love it. It’s perfect.”

“Okay,” Dan smiled. “I’m glad.”

“That must’ve required a lot of effort and preparation,” Phil pointed out about a while. “How did you keep it from me? Even when you’re tuned out, I usually can still hear flashes.”

Dan smirked. “Lots of concentration. And purposefully getting songs stuck in my head. I hope you appreciate the pain I went through for you.”

Phil laughed and nudged him slightly. “You know, back when we first met? You were the first person to talk to me, well, through your thoughts. I know it’s stupid, of course nobody would even think of it, but… I mean, I just wanted to say I’m really glad you did. I’m really glad I met you.”

Dan lifted himself up a bit to give him a kiss. “I guess I’d have to thank my headphones for breaking, that day,” he muttered. “Or I wouldn’t have met you.”

Phil chuckled and Dan rested his head on his chest again, Phil’s hand still in his. He couldn’t dream of anything better than this moment. He wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world.

He was happy.


End file.
